TWO KNOTS AT FLANK SPEED?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

Running on batteries won't conserve fuel. R/L, it takes more energy to charge the batteries than you can get out of them, usually about 15-25% more. (This is the myth of the electric car.) I doubt the devs actually modeled this, but it's built into ranges and speeds. You use just as much fuel going slow on one engine while the other recharges the batteries as you do going much faster on two engines at normal propulsion. And you go slower still on batteries. So the distance traveled on a "tank of gas" decreases the more you use the batteries.

True in real life, and true in SH4. Not true in SH3. Battery charging in the game doesn't work properly, and does indeed give you an advantage, or so many reported in the early days. I've never tried it myself, since it's unrealistic even if it does work.